UFC 231 Primer: The Max Holloway Countdown Is On

The last time featherweight champ Max Holloway was supposed to fight, he was pulled because he was a damn mess. The time before that, the Commission in New York pulled the plug. So the big question is: will Holloway be able to face challenger Brian Ortega in the main event of UFC 231 this weekend?

If you ask Ortega, he’s not so sure.

Yeeesh. Brian Ortega telling reporters he looked in Max Holloway’s eye this week said he’s not convinced he makes the fight on Saturday. We’ll see what happens #UFC231

Meanwhile, UFC boss Dana White thinks Holloway shouldn’t be trying to cut down to 145 pounds anymore. As per MMAJunkie:

“It’s weird; I’m not nervous, but I should be,” White told MMAjunkie. “You know, I didn’t want him to fight again at ’45. He wanted this fight so bad. He got cleared by every test and doctor and everything we’ve done. Came in light this week, so we’ll see what happens. Yeah, it would be really bad if he didn’t make weight.”

…

“I think he needs to go to ’55,” White said. “He’s too big for this weight. You can’t keep doing this to yourself and cutting to ’45. But you know what he wanted? He wants this Ortega fight. He wants to fight Ortega so bad. This is the fight he wanted. He got it. He medically got cleared, and he got what he wanted.”

By all accounts, Holloway looked full of pep at today’s open workouts in Toronto. But the weigh-ins are tomorrow, so we’ll know for sure then.